Naming events so finance and product agree
How to settle event names when two teams use the same word for different moments in a payment or fulfillment path.
Most naming fights are not about grammar. They are about two moments that feel similar from different chairs. Product may call something “completed” when the customer sees a confirmation screen. Finance may reserve “completed” for when funds clear. Both can be right—and both will corrupt a report if they share one label.
In a definition workshop, write the customer-visible moment and the ledger moment as separate rows. Give each a plain-language definition, a technical event identifier if one exists, and a single owner. Only then choose display names for reports. Prefer boring precision over clever branding: “payment_authorized” and “payment_settled” beat a single heroic “success.”
Document synonyms the teams already use in conversation. If the floor says “green light” for authorization, note that in the glossary so new analysts do not invent a third meaning. Revisit the glossary when a new application joins the path; do not assume names travel unchanged across systems.